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Official NY Yankees thread

Just wanna start this thread off by saying what a tremendous job Brian Cashman did this offseason...Very quietly, he's added a well-rounded former NL all-star catcher (only a couple of years removed) that has returned to form in a big way, a HUGE surprise addition for the rotation in Bartolo Colon (dude was fantastic last night against the White Sox, hitting 96 MPH several times), a second solid starting pitcher that can still get guys out in Freddy Garcia & two former all-stars that can still produce when called upon in Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones...That's not even counting the Rafael Soriano signing, arguably the AL's best short man last year (a move Cash wasn't even behind totally---true he's been spotty recently and we did have to give up a 1st round draft choice in order to sign him but I think it will be worth it. We now have probably the best back end of any bullpen out there even with Soriano struggling a little bit recently and great insurance and a solid replacement once Mo hangs it up for good)..I mean outside of the Phillies who got Cliff Lee for millions less only because he wanted to return, name a team that had a more successful offseason. Right now, Cash is exec of the year and I don't even think it's close. Go Yanks!!!!!!

I think Cash did a good job of getting good value out of retreads like Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones & especially Russell Martin. Those guys have injected some much needed depth to our roster with proven MLB veterans. It was a good bounceback from the pisspoor job he did last year as the GM trading for Javy Vazquez & failing to get the trade for Cliff Lee consummated because he was too afraid to give up Eduardo Nunez to the Seattle Mariners. I feel much better about the Yankees now than I did to begin the season & that's largely due to the fantastic job that Colon & AJ Burnett have done as our starters so far. If not for those guys our rotation would be in dire straits right now with Phil Hughes & his dead arm issue that just might put him out of commission for a good part of the season. Cash still needs to make a splash at the Allstar break & bring in another reliable arm for the rotation because going into the postseason with just CC & a bunch of question marks is not gonna get it done IMO.

Colon has been a Godsend...Unbelieveable. He's everything we haven't gotten from Phil Hughes and then some (remember Hughes was very mediocre last year during the 2nd half of the season). I can't believe the movement on this guy's 2-seamer..SICK! Guys just don't seem to be picking it up at all and Martin does a hell of a job framing pitches on the black..I think it has more movement than Greg Maddux's 2-seamer at his peak..And he throws it at 90-93..Plus he can amp up a 4-seamer at 94-96 if need be..Yeah, I'm a little concerned about his age, weight and the fact that he has an injury history, but right now the dude's pitching at an all-star level as far as I'm concerned.. I thought he outpitched Verlander last night.

Speaking of Hughes, glad to hear his circulatory and vascular tests came back clean..That's gotta be a huge weight off his and the Yankees' minds. I think we actually have depth to get by without him for the time being though..Hopefully he rebounds sometime soon but surprisingly, I don't feel overly-concerned about his not being here..I feel like there's enough depth in place where we can take our time with him and get him right..

Very happy for Swish, man..HUGE hit last night to win it for us (and against Valverde, that douchebag--you know the Yanks loved sticking it to that overzealous, ****y jerkoff last night!)..Nick's been real solid lately, ever since he cracked his first longball--I think he's starting to round into form...I just love how we upgraded very quitely in a lot of key areas from last year---catcher, backup infield, backup outfield, rotation, bullpen...Jete not hitting is a concern, but for the time being, we have enough going right to carry him..At least he can still field his position well, but his lack of production at the top of the order is troubling..Just seems late on fastballs and very overmatched up at the dish in general..And he ain't driving the ball at all..He's gotten some hits but they all seems to be of the bleeder/infield hit variety. Both he and Jorgie had a couple of hits last night but sad as it is to say, I think it's pretty close to the end of the line for both guys..You can just tell. Posada actually said in today's paper that he "closed his eyes and swung" on that early run-scoring double he had against Verlander. I mean that's gotta tell ya something right there--I few years back you would've never heard Jorge say something like that...Thank God that if it ever came to the point where we had to upgrade on the fly if those two continue to disappoint, we have some capable fill-ins internally that we could go to, at least to try out first: Eduardo Nunez can play (dude's a pretty big upgrade over Ramiro Pena talent-wise, who I liked) and Jorge Vazquez and Jesus Montero are both hitting well at AAA (both over .300--Montero's at .373 and Vazquez is hitting .302 with 9 HRs)..Both of those guys are hitting well enough to get the call up and probably provide more offense than Posada might be capable of over the long haul now (I understand he hit the 6 early HRs but I don't think we can expect power output like that from him from month to month)..I suspect what we're seeing now is closer to what we can expect from him---a guy that had a great career but now, like Jeter, is beginning to look overmatched at the plate playing every day. We might need a little more out of our DH spot eventually.

Left-handed starter Manny Banuelos is off to a nice start at AA Trenton btw (4 starts, all no-decisions but in 17.1 innings, he's allowed 14 hits and 7 BBs, with 13 Ks while pitching to a 1.56 era)..They seem to be babying him just a little bit (he's gone only 4, 4, 4.2 & 4.2 IP in his 4 starts so far, surprising considering the results have been there) but out of the 3 Killer Bs, I feel this guy could move the quickest even though he's the youngest of the 3...If he continues to excel at AA, I expect to see him pitching at AAA Scranton soon and then if need be, I think we could see him pitching in the Bronx sometime this summer..They actually might be keeping his innings down early in anticipation of that very idea..

What a shame about Chavez getting injured yesterday..Dude can still play ball at a high level..Not only did he give us good depth behind A-Rod & Tex at 3rd and 1st (and a good option that allowed Joe to rest either guy whenever without losing that much) but also a potent left-handed bat off the pine in the pinch-hit role..

Ramiro Pena looks to be the easiest replacement to call up, however the guy I really want them to bring up is Jorge Vazquez. Like Chavez, he plays two positions, 1st and a little 3rd, and he can really hit the ball..Not left-handed like Chavez which would've been ideal but he can still rake just the same. Read on yankees.com yesterday that Vazquez isn't on the 40-man roster though, so someone would have to be taken off to make room for him..No idea who that could be---Kevin Russo, Gustavo Molina (who was just sent down when Cervelli was activated---plus we have all sorts of catching depth in the minors), Chris Dickerson?? Whoever it is, do whatever needs to be done: add Vazquez to the 40-man, call him up to the bigs, give him a taste and lets see what he's got. What if he comes up and mashes the ball, even in limited duty? Then Joe will have an easy decision to make: when Chavez is ready, send down Lance Pendleton to make room and roll with Chavez AND Vazquez (Pendleton seems redundant along with Buddy Carlyle anyway, no? Two very similar long men---Pendleton's younger [and probably has options whereas Carlyle may not, I'm not sure] but I favor Carlyle's stuff, ability to throw strikes and major league experience a little more between the two)..Who knows, if Posada continues to slide, maybe Vazquez could become the everyday DH..The time is NOW to find out about this guy.

Eric Chavez is as brittle as an 80 yo man. How TF do you break a bone in your foot by running the bases??? SMH.

Yeah that was crazy. Was thinking the same damn thing when it happened...I was in the other room last night for a min. and missed a majority of Kim Jones' in-game report where it sounded like she was talking about Chavez and how he once did the same thing or something similar when he was a kid? Did I hear some of that right? I missed most of what she was talking about..I heard just enough to know she was talking about Chavez and the injury though. Anyone catch her whole report?

Looks like they took the easy way out and just replaced Chavez with Ramiro Pena. A little disappointed..I really wanted Jorge Vazquez to get called up. The timing seemed perfect to call this guy up---not only to fill in for Chavez but to see if he was worth keeping up and using as a DH with Posada continuing to underperform in that role. After last night's latest '0 for,' Posada's only hitting .149. We're gonna need much more production than that out of our everyday DH. Now way around it.

Looks like Jeter's bat has finally woken up. Good to see he's still got some life left in that bat. Now if only Jorge can get with the program.

Yup. Took him a little bit but Derek's starting to regain his form at the plate. I think a lot had to do with him trying out new hitting techniques in the beginning, thinking about it too much, etc..I think now he just settled back into what's worked for him his whole life. Looks a lot more comfortable now, for the past couple of weeks actually..And HE'S DRIVING THE BALL AGAIN..That's the main thing..Even Ron Washington said it yesterday: "He looked like the Derek Jeter of old." Great to see.

Posada, on the other hand, I dunno man...For me, an everyday DH in the American League has to be able to smack the ball around. Period..That's all that player's expected to do--hit the ball. Generate offense..At least when Jeter was really scuffling early, he was still fielding his position well. The guy's a gold-glove SS..The move to make with Jeter, if he kept up the struggles at the plate, would've been to drop him in the order..With Jorgie, unfortunately it's a little different---as the DH, if he doesn't hit, he's gotta sit and you try someone else...We need to get some offense outta that spot. A few factors at play here as far as why they haven't tried something else yet I'm sure: Posada's long, successful tenure as a Yankee; Joe's personal relationship with Jorge; the fact that he hit 6 dingers in April....I get all of that and I respect it...But if he continues to underperform, Joe has no alternative but to try something else and to me, you look from within first before going out and surrendering valuable resources just to add a bat---resources that we might very well need for a starting pitcher later this summer. If Posada continues to struggle, where's the point where Joe goes to him and tell him he's gotta go in a different direction? That's what I wanna know..Mid-May? End of May? Beginning of June? I mean a productive DH is very important. It'll help us win games. If we had a DH that was actually hitting, maybe we win that game the other night where we fought back from 5-0, instead of losing 7-5 when our offense just ran out of steam. I respect Posada and I think he deserves a long leash, longer than most because of who he is and what he's done for us, but sooner or later they'll have to think about an alternative. You can carry a light-hitting leftfielder that hits 9th as long as he brings intangibles and supplies other things you need to win (adds speed to the lineup, affords the manager flexibility to hit him 1st or 9th, actually fields his position and fields it well, etc..). You can't possibly carry a middle-of-the-order DH that isn't hitting. That's the bottom line...They had a golden opportunity to do something significant here when Chavez went down: they should've called up Montero or Vazquez immediately, preferably Vazquez considering he plays 3rd and 1st like Chavez and also considering the fact that you really wanna see Montero continue to catch everyday and develop behind the plate...Vazquez then should've been given an opportunity to play in some games for either A-Rod or Tex right away..It would've be easy on Posada, appearing at first to have nothing to do with him, and would've given him the longer leash at DH he probably deserves...Now if after a few games where Vazquez hit the ball like he looks like he's capable of and Posada continued to struggle, then replacing Posada at DH with Vazquez would've been that much easier for Joe---a much easier sell to Posada too who I'm sure still has a lot of pride. Makes sense to me...I can't believe they didn't go this route...Never too late though. I think it's definitely something we could explore soon if things continue the way they've been going.

Posada's on the last year of his contract so this is probably his final year in a Yankee uniform. With Russell Martin playing so well I'm beginning to think this is gonna turn into more than just a 1 year stint in Yankee pinstripes for him. Even with Montero waiting in the wings I think the Yankees are extremely happy with what Martin has brought, & at only 28 years old he's got plenty of mileage left in him as a fulltime starting C. I dunno if they will want to use a young kid like Montero as a DH, he may be more valuable to the Yankees as a trade chip to acquire a bigname starting pitcher from a team that's fallen out of the Pennant race at the deadline. Montero's got tremendous upside but if we can get a top tier proven starter for him I think you have to do it. We can't keep relying on Bartolo Colon to keep pitching the way he has so far this year, which has been tremendous, but my fear is he may wear down as the season goes on. AJB has also had a history of wearing down late in the season, & who knows what we'll get out of Freddy Garcia, who's been great so far this year but again, you have to figure he won't be able to keep up this stellar ERA he's pitching to now. Ivan Nova is gonna be up & down all year IMO as well. We just might see Hughes & Montero forming the basis of a blockbuster trade this July.

Posada's on the last year of his contract so this is probably his final year in a Yankee uniform. With Russell Martin playing so well I'm beginning to think this is gonna turn into more than just a 1 year stint in Yankee pinstripes for him. Even with Montero waiting in the wings I think the Yankees are extremely happy with what Martin has brought, & at only 28 years old he's got plenty of mileage left in him as a fulltime starting C. I dunno if they will want to use a young kid like Montero as a DH, he may be more valuable to the Yankees as a trade chip to acquire a bigname starting pitcher from a team that's fallen out of the Pennant race at the deadline. Montero's got tremendous upside but if we can get a top tier proven starter for him I think you have to do it. We can't keep relying on Bartolo Colon to keep pitching the way he has so far this year, which has been tremendous, but my fear is he may wear down as the season goes on. AJB has also had a history of wearing down late in the season, & who knows what we'll get out of Freddy Garcia, who's been great so far this year but again, you have to figure he won't be able to keep up this stellar ERA he's pitching to now. Ivan Nova is gonna be up & down all year IMO as well. We just might see Hughes & Montero forming the basis of a blockbuster trade this July.

Well said. You're right on the money in every regard. This is definitely Posada's last year. I feel the same way..Even in his heyday he was never the type of offensive player I'd associate with the AL DH position. Barely..Decent offensive player for a catcher, probably a little better than decent actually to be fair, but never a perennial 30+ HR guy or huge run producer..And now, forget it. Stinkin' up the joint big-time. We're gonna need to do better..Hey, Jeter turned the corner so maybe Posada will too, although I have my doubts. I read a little blurb in yesterday's Newsday where Joe basically said he's gonna give Jorge all the room he needs to succeed in the role, mentioning how it's new territory for him and that he never really excelled in the role before, the few times he was asked to DH in the past. From that comment I get the feeling it's gonna be Posada as the everyday DH for awhile now, sink or swim...Meanwhile Jorge Vazquez has had a red-hot past couple of days for Scranton, going 5-9 with 3 HRs..He's up to .311 with 12 HRs total now.

I agree Martin looks good enough to reup..He'll definitely be back if he maintains his play and shows he can stay healthy. All the positive signs are there: soild behind the plate, good throwing arm, good hitter, in his prime years. He even runs well for a catcher. Dude's been everything we needed and more. What a tremendous shot in the arm for us --- Cash hit the bull's-eye dead center with that signing...I agree that eventually Montero's probably dangled as trade bait for a big pitcher, along with Hughes if we can get him back on the mound and pitching at least semi-effective again sometime soon. Remember, C Gary Sanchez is supposedly an even better catching prospect than Montero, a guy that the Yanks are extremely high on..Along Montero & pitcher Manny Banuelos, those three are rated the three top prospects in the organization at the moment, in different order 1,2,3 depending on who's giving the opinion..Another big reason, along with Martin's solid play behind the plate, why Montero could be expendable. Hey we practically had Cliff Lee in pinstripes with a trade proposal built around Montero as the centerpiece (and that was w/o Hughes included). If we can get Phil back pitching healthy, a Montero/Hughes package should be enough to fetch us one of the top pitchers in baseball, perhaps the top guy, whoever becomes available around the deadline. Either that or Hughes suddenly (and hopefully) regains top velocity or close to it---then we'd have our big pitching reinforcement for the stretch drive AND we hold onto Montero. Either way looks like it could be a win-win for us down the line. Hughes is almost set to start his rehab. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it was only some 'dead-arm' thing and nothing else (the negative results on all the tests he just got seem to indicate that). If Phil can make it back throwing his fastball in the 93-95 range, he might be all we need for the second half.

After Jorge's disgusting temper tantrum before tonight's game, I hope he retires tomorrow. Can't believe this guy has the nerve to act like a primadonna & pull himself out of the lineup when he's batting .165, all because Joe G had him batting 9th in the lineup. If you ask me Girardi's been more than patient with Jorge all year, but when you're struggling as badly as he is, you gotta think about the team first & personal feelings second. Completely disappointed in Jorge's behavior tonight. I have completely lost any respect I had left for him. He's been a great player for us over the years but no one is above the team. When you're playing like crap you gotta be willing to do what's best for the team & bat 9th if your manager tells you to bat 9th. WTF is Jorge complaining about making all that money he's being paid right now? Unbelievable.

If Alex Rodriguez can accept being bumped down to 8th in the lineup during the playoffs a few years back & not raise a stink about it, then Jorge can accept being bumped down to 9th in a game vs. the Red Sox in May.

Jorge, please take some pointers from Nick Swisher on how to correctly react to being bumped down in the batting order. Right now Jorge's barely half the hitter he used to be, he needs to accept batting 9th & not raise a stink about it because of some hurt feelings a-la Swish:

Swisher sporting new hairdo, spot in lineup

NEW YORK -- Nick Swisher walked into the Yankees' clubhouse Saturday with a new hairstyle. The right fielder also had a new spot in the lineup -- eighth.

Swisher, who is hitting .221 with a .338 on-base percentage this season, moved as part of a Yankees lineup shift for Saturday night's game against the Red Sox. Russell Martin batted sixth and Brett Gardner hit seventh. Andruw Jones was a late insertion for Jorge Posada in the No. 9 hole.

The Yankees made the changes to try to jump-start an offense that, although it has struggled recently, still ranks second in the Major Leagues with 5.14 runs per game. Only the Cardinals score more.

"Maybe that's the thing that needs to be done," Swisher said. "I feel like in the past week I have put some good at-bats together. I haven't come up clutch in sometimes, but I'm just trying to work on that. But I feel like I'm on the up-and-up. But this is a total team effort, so if anything can be done to help this team out, I'm all for it."